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Transcript

Bad Breath? These 3 Steps Help Fix the Real Cause FAST · SmileMoreDentistry with Mariliza LaCap, DDS

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: If you have been eating mints for years, rinsing after every meal, brushing before meetings, and worrying every time somebody gets close to you, I need you to put those mints down for a minute so we can have some real talk.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: Because there is a point where you have to stop asking, how do I cover this?
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: And start asking, why does it keep coming back?
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: I've been a dentist for 35 years.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: I personally treated more than 15,000 patients.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: And bad breath is one of those problems where people can spend years treating the symptom and never figure out what is actually causing it.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: That is what I want to help you figure out.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: And there are really three things I want you to do.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: The first one is probably the hardest because it means stopping something that feels like it is helping.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: Step one, stop masking it.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: Most people with chronic bad breath get very good at hiding it.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: They carry gum everywhere.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: They have mints in the car, they have mouthwash at home, mouthwash at work, maybe even mouthwash in their purse.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: And for 20 minutes, maybe it works.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: Your mouth feels fresher, the mint kicks in, and you think, okay, good, I fixed it.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: But if the smell comes right back, you did not fix the cause.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: You change the smell for a little while.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: I am not against mouthwash.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: It can kill some bacteria and make your mouth feel fresher.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: But if the odor is coming from food trapped between teeth, bacteria sitting on the tongue, a tonsil stone, dry mouth, or buildup underneath the gums, mouthwash may not be touching the real source at all.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I have to tell you the story because this poor man had the worst breath.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: My husband and I were buying a new car and the salesman had this really strong cologne on.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: But underneath the cologne was the bad breath.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: Before getting in to test drive the car, I told my husband, I'll be sitting in the back seat.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: So every time he turned around to talk to me, I was getting both of the cologne and the bad breath at the same time.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: I rolled down the window, I couldn't take it, and leaned into my husband and I said, I need to tell him about his bad breath and let him know we can help.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, my husband says, do not tell him we're dentist until we negotiate the car.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: Fine.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: So we sign everything, we get the price, and then I'm like, okay, now I have to tell him because this man needs help.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: And guess what?
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: He wasn't offended.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: He started coming to our office.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, he brought his whole family in, his wife and two daughters.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: He did not need stronger mouthwash or cologne.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: There was a dental problem causing deodorant.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: And once we treated the source, he did not have to keep trying to cover it with cologne and mouthwash anymore.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: He still thanks me for telling him.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: He's still a patient after all these years.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: That is really the whole problem with chronic bad breath.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: You can spend years finding better ways to cover the smell, or you can figure out where the smell is coming from.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: So if your mouthwash works for 15 minutes or 20 minutes and then your breath is right back where it started, do not assume you need a stronger mouthwash.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: You need step two.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: And step two is figure out which kind of bad breath that you have.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody wants to blame the stomach.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: It must be something I ate.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: This must be my stomach.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes yes, but most bad breath starts in the mouth.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: And the tricky part is that five completely different problems can make your breath smell exactly the same.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: So this is where I want you to play detective for a minute.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: First, start with your tongue.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: The back of the tongue is uneven.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: Bacteria can sit all over that surface, and it is one of the first places I would look if somebody tells me their breath smells even though their teeth seem clean.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: So tonight, after you brush, actually clean your tongue.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: Then clean between your teeth.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: If food keeps coming out of the same space or the floss comes out smelling terrible from one particular area, that gives you somewhere to look.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: You might have a cavity, which is a hole in the tooth you cannot see.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: Usually they're between the teeth.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: If your gums are also bleeding or swollen, now I'm thinking about inflammation around the gums and whether there is buildup there that needs to be addressed.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: But there is another cause that a lot of people never even think about.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: Look at your tonsils.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Some people get little white or yellow stones sitting in the folds of the tonsils.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: These are tonsil stones and they can smell awful.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: They're basically little collections of hardened material, food debris, and bacteria sitting back there in the tonsil.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: And bad breath is one of the most common symptoms.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: If you have ever coughed up one, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: They're tiny and they look innocent.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Then you smell one and you go, oh my gosh, that was in my throat.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: That may be your answer.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: Because if your bad breath is coming from a visible tonsil stone, sometimes the fix really can be very quick.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: Many small tonsil stones will come loose with gargling, coughing, or sometimes very gentle low pressure irrigation.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: Do not go back there blasting your tonsils with a water flosser.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: That tissue is delicate.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if you cannot get it out, it hurts, it keeps coming back, or you're getting frequent tonsil problems.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: That is where I want you talking to your doctor or an ENT instead of attacking your tonsils every night.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: But do you see why finding the source matters?
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: If it is a tonsil stone, a bottle of mouthwash is not the same answer as if the odor is coming from plaque around your teeth.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if your mouth feels dry all day, that is another clue.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: Saliva naturally helps clean the mouth.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: So when you do not have enough of it, odor-causing particles and bacteria can hang around much more easily.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: So now I'm asking different questions.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: Are you taking a medication that dries your mouth?
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: Are you waking up with extremely dry?
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: Are you breathing through your mouth a lot?
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: Because now the fix is not more mint.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: We need to deal with a dry mouth.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: That might mean more water, products that can help keep the mouth moist, or talking with your dentist or doctor about what may be contributing it.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: But what if none of that sounds like you?
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Your teeth are clean, your gums look healthy, you do not see tonsil stones, your mouth is not particularly dry, and your breath still keeps coming back.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: That is when I stop assuming the problem is dental.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: And if you've been dealing with bad breath for months or years and keep getting the same answer, brush better, use mouthwash, that is exactly the kind of thing we look at in our office.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: We can check the teeth, the gums, the tongue, areas where food is getting trapped, and whether there is something in the mouth actually creating the odor.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: And if the mouth is not the source, I would rather tell you that and help point you in the right direction than keep selling you dental solutions for a problem that is not dental.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're near one of our offices and you want our team to take a look, you can contact us with the link in the description.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: Because step three is knowing when the source is somewhere else.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: Step three, if the mouth is clean, look outside the mouth.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: This is where the stomach finally gets its chance.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: Because yes, reflux can contribute to bad breath, GERD, which means gastroesophageal reflex disease can bring stomach contents or acid back upward and chronic heartburn or reflux can be associated with bad breath.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: So if your dentist looks at your mouth and we are not seeing an obvious dental source, and you are also dealing with frequent heartburn, sour taste, reflux, or symptoms after eating, that is something I want you discussing with your medical doctor.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: The same thing goes for certain nose, sinus, or throat problems.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: Some infections and conditions in those areas can contribute to odor also.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where people waste so much time.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: They assume all bad breath is one problem.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: So they keep buying one kind of solution: another mouthwash, another gum, another mint, another toothpaste.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: But bad breath can come from completely different things, and those things need completely different fixes.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: So if it's coming from your tongue, clean the tongue.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: If food keeps getting trapped between two teeth, figure out why it keeps happening.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: Tonsil stone, deal with the tonsil stone.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: Dry mouth, now we need to figure out why your mouth is so dry.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: And if there is disease around the teeth or gums, that needs to be treated there.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: But if I look at all of that and your mouth looks healthy, I'm not going to keep telling you to buy mouthwash.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: Now I want somebody looking at reflux or another medical cause.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: That is the fastest way I know to approach chronic bad breath.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: Not because every one of these causes disappears in five minutes, but because you stop spending months or years treating the wrong thing.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I also want to say this, because bad breath is one of those problems people get really embarrassed about.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: Somebody tells you once that your breath smells, and suddenly every time you talk to somebody, you're thinking about it.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: You stand further away, you cover your mouth, chewing gum before you get close to your husband or wife.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: You're worried about talking to somebody at work.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: Please do not be embarrassed to tell your dentist.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: After 35 years, I smelled everything.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: You're not going to shock me.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: I would much rather you say, My breath has been bothering me for two years, and I cannot figure out why, because now we can have somewhere to start.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: So tonight, clean your teeth and your tongue.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: Look at your gums, take a look at your tonsils, and pay attention to whether your mouth feels unusually dry.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: If you find something obvious, now you know what to address.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: And if you do not, but the bad breath keeps coming back, get your mouth checked.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: If the mouth checks out, start looking beyond the mouth.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: Because the fastest way to fix chronic bad breath is to stop treating all bad breath like it's the same problem.
• 10:04
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• 10:07
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• 10:13
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